No, it doesn’t appear in the newest Bond flick, Victoria, Canada, is going to be experimenting with another type of crime-proof, nice-to-look-at public urinal to deal with their “nighttime urination problem.”
Unlike the automated, self-cleaning toilets planned for Toronto and Vancouver, which are enclosed booths with doors that that automatically open after a set time period, the Urilift system is a two-meter high stainless steel cylinder with three alcoves, each with a urinal, and no doors.
By day, the Urilift is lowered below street level for a nice clean look. Then at night, an operator comes by with a remote and the Urilift hydraulically lifts to sidewalk level in about two minutes. Then the unit is ready to serve all the nighttime party animals who don’t mind peeing in a very exposed public urinal.
Because there are no doors, there is little danger of any unauthorized or illegal activities. San Francisco and Seattle’s auto-toilets have been derided as dens for drug dealers and prostitutes. In addition, the presence of an attendant nearby to lower the system in the morning means it’s unlikely a drunken reveler who slumps over the Urilift will wake up under the street.
It is, of course, designed for male usage (which means we’re unlike to ever see them in the US). They cost $75K a pop-up.
(via GeekPress)
My son came in the back door the other night and, spurning greetings, headed down the hall exclaiming “Talk later! Gotta piss!”
He came back to the kitchen in a few minutes looking relieved and I said something about “the convenience of modern plumbing.” He looked amazed at my stupidity.
“Convenience my ass! If it weren’t for modern plumbing, it would be perfectly legal and acceptable to use the nearest bush!”
(Laughter all around ensues)